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(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
April 08, 2020 - 3:30 PM
Kelowna International Airport is still getting daily flights in and out of Seattle.
Alaska Air has one flight in and out of Kelowna each day but tomorrow, April 9, will be the last time. The cut is part of a scaling back of the airline’s operations, Jessica Hewitt, communications advisor for the airport said in an email to iNFOnews.ca.
In March, the Canadian government limited overseas flights to four major airports (Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal) but exempted flights from the continental United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Regular flights between Kelowna and Mexico, the Caribbean, Las Vegas and Phoenix are no longer operating, Hewitt wrote.
“All international passengers arriving at YLW (Kelowna Airport) undergo screening protocols by Canada Border Services Agency as directed by the Public Health Agency of Canada,” Hewitt wrote. “It is mandatory for all travellers arriving in Canada to self-isolate for 14 days and are required to declare if they are experiencing symptoms.
Airlines are conducting health checks of passengers on international and domestic flights and will prevent anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 from boarding a plane.”
The airport’s website says that only passengers who are travelling on essential service are allowed to fly into Canada.
Westjet and Air Canada are flying to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton while Central Mountain Air is still flying to Prince George.
For the last two years, Kelowna International Airport was the 10th busiest in Canada with about two million passengers passing through the airport each year.
The loss of the Seattle flights will leave the airport with 16 scheduled flights each day, down from an average of 96 in February.
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